[ Reviewed by: Vigil ] - [ Date: Thursday, 25th October, 2001 ]

 

The Looming Madness is Shaun Ross's... Now let's see... 12th Single Player level, so you should know him well by now. Always nice to see prolific authors who release good levels. This time, Shaun has decided to make a sequel to Egyptian Myth, one of his earlier levels.

 

The theme is a sort of a mix between several, using textures from Daikatana and Hexen II. The textures don't always fit together too well and seem a bit clashing at times. The theme is not clear and refined enough, and remains as one of the weaker points of this level. The level has been built well, as with Shaun's previous levels. The visuals are pleasing to the eye, offering a few impressive moments as well. Smaller details are somewhat missing, though. Once again, the layout is well-planned, with areas revisited from new angles. At times the different areas could've used more distinctiveness, not always clear which door just opened and where was it again. The dark lighting gives a good, moody atmosphere.

 

As you've probably guessed, combat is brutal, with easily over 100 monsters in the level. And not just the normal ones, the Gremlins and Snakemen make another appearance, with the usual bunch enhanced with new attacks. Watch out for the Ogres, they have a nasty surprise waiting! There's loads of ammo waiting, with a real overdose of shells. Health seemed well balanced, but I was sweating with the lack of armor. You'll acquire most of the weapons before getting to the end. The combat quickly heats up, with Knights and Gremlins pestering you on ground level and Ogres and Scrags harassing you from above. Fiends, Hellknights and eventually Vores and Shamblers provide tougher opponents. There are a few good, well-planned ambushes to keep you busy, mostly the combat could be classified as 'normal'. The ending takes place in an arena, with a good amount of monsters trying to kill you.

 

This one's clean, no major or even medium errors found. Perhaps the greatest problem of the level is its similarity with Shaun's other levels. The layout and architecture really aren't that different from his other levels, so if you've played them all, you may want to pass this one up. It's still a good level, just not as memorable as Egyptian Myth seemed to be. Lacking personality, I feel.